MESOP NEWS „WHO WAS INFORMED?“ – US: We Informed Russia in Advance About Attack That Hit Assad Forces

The US military repeated on Sunday that it informed Russia about the attack, countering Moscow’s accusations that the Americans were supporting the Islamic State with the strikes.

Officials said US military personnel in Qatar told the Russians about 30 minutes in advance about the plan to attack an area where several dozen individuals, a tank, and other military gear were present. The Russians said nothing to indicate the presence of regime troops until they called about 20 minutes into the assault, when the operation was immediately aborted.

The Russian Defense Ministry said, soon after the revelation that regime soldiers had been hit:

If the airstrike was caused by the wrong coordinates of targets, then it’s a direct consequence of the stubborn unwillingness of the American side to coordinate with Russia in its actions against terrorist groups in Syria.Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added, “We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world: That the White House is defending Islamic State. Now there can be no doubts about that.”

On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry softened the accusation while still maintaining pressure: The actions of coalition pilots — if they, as we hope, were not taken on an order from Washington — are on the boundary between criminal negligence and connivance with Islamic State terrorists.

We strongly urge Washington to exert the needed pressure on the illegal armed groups under its patronage to implement the ceasefire plan unconditionally. Otherwise the implementation of the entire package of the U.S.-Russian accords reached in Geneva on September 9 may be jeopardized. www.mesop.de